Scars
by Devon Goes to Heaven
Summary: Effie is rescued from the Capitol, and Haymitch is there to comfort her in the aftermath.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own the Hunger Games or it's characters. I am not profiting from this in anyway.

**AN:** I seriously got into this ship yesterday via tumblr, and I had to write fic for them. This is just a tiny little one-shot. I want to write a longer version of this plot bunny, but write now I'm already working on things. Anyways, tell me what you think!

_Scars_

She felt so thoughtless. Her entire life had rushed by her, and she hadn't even given a second thought to her government's treatment of the districts. She had always played along with their fancy little holidays, their customs – The Hunger Games. Yes, that was always a personal favorite of hers as a kid. Since she could remember, she followed each game religiously.

Effie was so hopelessly obsessed with the games that she had to become a part of them. She became part of a system that abused innocent children. She remembered her fingers shuffling through that huge class ball to retrieve that first name. A shiver ran through her body at the very thought, and she drew her blanket around herself tightly.

She no longer had her fancy outfits. Her big colorful wigs were lost somewhere in the capitol along with her expensive kit of lavish makeup. She felt so plain now, and she thought of something one of the peacekeepers had told her as he violated her. _"You look just like one of your damn tributes._"

Effie couldn't suppress the tears that formed The room was dark. She was alone – away from the everyone. She used to hate being alone, but now it was the only time she could really be at peace. Here she could just let everything out without the eyes of others.

Effie was unable to connect with her peers since her arrival in District 13. People would sometimes toss her a glare, but for the most part, she went through the halls completely unnoticed. When she ate, she would eat her tray of food alone. Occasionally she'd share a few words with Katniss, but for the most part, her days were completely uneventful.

She wished that she could make herself useful. She didn't know how to fight or create weapons. She could give advice to her tributes, but she was no military tactician. She imagined that if she were actually to complete in the Hunger Games, she'd be the first to go.

Effie rolled over on her back and starred at ceiling. She evened out her breathing the best she could and made her best attempt to remain calm. She tried to force her thoughts away to no avail.

She heard a knock at her door, and she instantly snapped up. _It must be Katniss_, she thought to herself. Who else would wish to be around her? She pulled her covers to the side and threw a dull gray robe around herself. She pressed the button to her door and heard it open with a _whoosh_.

It was Haymitch.

She hadn't seen him since the day she was rescued. She swallowed nervously.

"You look so different," he said.

"I uh – I can't really keep up with myself now that–"

He cracked a small smile. "You look better like this."

She pushed a strand of her natural blonde hair behind her ear nervously. She noticed a bottle of bourbon in his hand. Leave it to Haymitch to find alcohol in District 13. She smiled at him.

"You wanna drink?" he asked.

"Yes," her voice cracked at his offer. "I mean, yeah...that would be great."

Haymitch crossed through her doorway, and Effie made sure to close the door behind him. She was unsure what her status with Haymitch was. She wouldn't say they were ever close friends, but she had always respected and admired him. She'd go as far to say that she trusted him more than anyone else.

Effie followed Haymitch to the side table in her cramped room. Haymitch set the bottle of bourbon on the glass table and went to retrieve the glasses from her cabinets. He placed three blocks of ice in each glass, and then he returned to their table. He poured a triple shot into her glass and placed it in front of her.

She took a small sip at first. Then, she took practically guzzled down the rest of her glass. Haymitch laughed as he filled her glass. "I never took you for a drinker."

She laughed a little to herself. "I wasn't. I mean, I never drank much before."

"I never really drank much before my reaping," he said.

She lowered her eyes from him and stared into her cocktail glass. Effie vaguely wondered if she would take up drinking to drown out her emotional scars. She thought about her future, and she really couldn't picture anything. She took a sip from her glass.

"It's all so silly when you think of it," her voice cracked as she fought back tears. "Life in the Capitol didn't have much to it. I'd look in all these stupid little magazines with fashion based on the children that died that year. Then, there was stupid gossip shows about previous victors, and other wealthy people that people admired. I can't believe how shallow my life really was. Katniss, Peeta – you – you all must have thought me so stupid."

She refrained from crying. She wouldn't scare him off with her tears. She hated how sensitive she always was. She forced a smile on her face, but she was sure that he could see right through it.

"They bring you up like that," he replied. "They distract the public with celebrity gossip and fickle little things so that they do not question their government."

She took a sip of her bourbon. Her head was starting to feel light. She smiled a little. This one wasn't forced. "Do you think we'll win?"

"I'm not sure," Haymitch said. "We're trying the best we can."

"I hope we do," she whispered.

She placed her hand on his knee, and her heart nearly skipped a beat when she felt his warm hand cover hers. She set her glass down on the table. She was sure she'd drink a lot more before the night was out, but she wanted to at least pace herself.

"You know," she said. "You could just stay here with me tonight. I mean, if you want to."

He was quiet. She was sure that she had crossed a line. She heard him clear his throat. "Yeah, that'd be nice."

She laughed and a small smile came on her face again. She had always had this tiny little crush on Haymitch. She never really acted on it then. It would have caused too much conflict in her job. Now, she didn't have any Capitol restraints holding her back. She leaned forward and placed a kiss on his lips. She was surprised when he kissed her back.

They parted.

"I've been wanting to do that since I saw the real you," he said.

She felt her heart skip. She took another sip from her glass of bourbon. Underneath all the pain she felt, she managed to dig up a small piece of happiness.

"I guess I've been wanting to since the day I met you," she admitted.

"Come here," he said as he pulled her into his lap.

Effie let out a high pitch laugh before snuggling into her chest. She looked up into his eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this excited. For a moment, her awful memories left her. Maybe – she thought to herself – maybe she still had a future to look forward to.


End file.
